The son of former PBA player and now coach Art dela Cruz has not been a part of a 12-man national team roster before. The closest he got to wearing the country’s color was in a 3x3 tournament in Bali, Indonesia while still in high school at San Beda.

He was supposed to be part of the Gilas cadets team of coach Tab Baldwin to the 2015 Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) Championship, but passed on the opportunity since according to him, he was all bent on turning pro that same year.

Now, he’s not about to miss this chance.

“Ibang level na ito. Qualifier for (World Championship), kaya given the chance, I’ll try my best to make the team,” said Dela Cruz, who was hesitant at first to believe his inclusion in the Gilas training pool when SPIN.ph first informed him about it Friday night, two days before Reyes made the official announcement.

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Being named to the national pool also meant working anew with the group of former Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Manny V. Pangilinan, who is known as the major backer of the San Beda team in the NCAA.

“Hindi na rin naman iba sa akin yung MVP Group. I have been there before,” said Dela Cruz, who won three college rings with the Red Lions during his stint with the school from 2012-2015.

Before leaving the Mendiola-based school, Dela Cruz bared Pangilinan extended an invitation to him about the possibility of working together again, this time with the national team.